pick up coil???????????

[aeronca]

any know of an aftermarket pick up coil. the one i replaced was a german brand, and the one i got from bikebandit.com is a gill - guess whats happening again. at least i know enough not to get too pissed off and panic on the side of the highway, just let the engine cool a little bit the start and go. it getting really friggin old.   idea's???????????????????

[Mustang]

eric buddy this is starting to sound like an igniter failure not the p/u coil  :shock:

[aeronca]

holly crap, dont say that. it only happens once in a while, and always starts after a short cool down, then doesnt happen again for long time. i would hate to have to replace that box at $700.00(+). although i think mudhen found one ebay for around $100.00 or so. is there a way to test them? if its a transistor or something like that it would'nt be very hard to replace, but which one? how do you know?. im going to hope it's just a crappy pick-up coil from gill, much like there ignitor coils.those nology's were the ticket as far as ignition problems.  when it die's it kind of hickups a couple of time, then stumble's for a second or two then thats it. i still have lights and electrics. wait a about two minets and she'll turn over, another 5 or so and she'll be hesetent to catch but will, then all is well, and wont happen again for a while.i would think if it were the circut board in the ignitor box it would be either off or on as the circut cools. oh well, like you said in another thread, steamer will alway's get home - might take awhile, but they will.

[Mustang]

The igniter on the wifes kitty died a few years back . It went out in grand fashion ............looked like a shot down mustang or zero ww2 fighter plane ........losing power and pulling off the road with a thick trail of white smoke pouring from under the seat and gas tank .!
Turned out the #1 circuit transistor that toggles the power on and off to the coil ,stuck on and the poor coil couldn't take it .
Electrical problems suck because you can't find them till they act up , intermittent ones make me pull my hair .

Long story short I fixed the box with a new transistor from radio shack for about 3 bucks . 1 new coil and has been good ever since **knocking on wood**
just for shits and grins why don't you check the connectors for the pick up coil and see if they are not green and corroded on the pins ,

[JetdocX]

Shit, man.  Between my carbs and your ignition we both have a pretty good arguement for newer bikes. :shock:

Do I need to buy a parts bike? :lol:


Seriously, catch me up.  You replaced the trigger/pickup thingie.  Have you replaced the stock coils?

[aeronca]

ok brother jetdocx, way back i ran it out of gas - that started this trek. it started pissing gas everywhere. so i yanked the carbs and rebuilt them, figured it was time anyway's. i did'nt do a good job, so i got to rebuild them again. at the same time, a coil way heading south unbeknown to me. turns out it was probably the coil the entire time and all's i really needed to do to the carbs was clean the float bowls. i buy a new coil and the one they sell me is bad from stock. i get them to take it back and then bring it to a shop and they stick another coil in (same one i trouble shot) and also tell me they adjusted the carbs again. one month later, it starts dieing on me(twice),just shutting off on the highway - let it cool down a bit then off i go.take it back to them and ofcorse they cant find anything wrong. then the ciol they replaced craps out. so i listened to brother mustang and bought 3 new nology coils and i was filled with joy. it ran great.  i also bought a new pick up coil from bikebandit.com. they sent a oem(gill) coil. and now its shutting down on me again.so there it is in a nut shell.  --  NOW, yesterday i let her run for 5-10 minets, got her good and hot. pulled the connecter for the pick up coil and ohm'ed it out. 670 ohms. the book calls out 530(+-) 10%. cold it ohm's out at 510 ohm's.so as the heat goes up, so does the resistance, and that's probably normal to a certain degree, but that seems like an awfull quick rise in such a short time, its heading for an open. any one know the operating resistance value at temp. i wish i could ohm it out when it shuts off, i'll have to start carring around my meter with me :)  or splice one in line with the coil. :)  idea's?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[JetdocX]

How much does the trigger/ pickup coil cost?  If it's cheap, buy one and stick it in there.  If no change, then start looking for an igniter unit $$$$$.

Just my .02.

Another thing....what is your tach doing?  Your tach reads the electrical impulses sent to the ignition coils, and calculates RPM from that.

If your tach drops to zero and you know your engine is still turning (slowing down) then you can be pretty sure it's an ignition failure.

[Mustang]

Eric
you probably are not gonna get anything other than gill for a p/u coil .
I am holding a used gill in my hand that came out of a perfectly running triple and it ohms at 599 ice cold
I don't think the p/u coil is at fault , but I will also be first to admit that I also can be wrong !

When it dies does it act like it is running out of gas or does it up and die  on all three cylinders instantly .
If it's the latter it IS THE P/U COIL
If it acts starved for fuel , you have checked the filter in the gas line between #3 and #2 cyl. where the line comes in , if it's still there throw it away and install a clear nylon filter in the line where you can see it .
The pig gets fuel easier if you get rid of the Triumph fuel pipe and replace with some nice 5/16ths gas line from auto zone . route it down under the carbs and into the t fitting ....works much better this way .
Also try riding with the gas cap open and see if the problem comes back .If no problem with cap open you have a vent problem on tank .

And I have to ask , WHAT ARE THE VALVE CLEARANCES LIKE < ESPECIALLY THE INTAKES !
tight intakes will usually cause the bike to run like shit AFTER IT WARMS UP !

[aeronca]

well i guess it feels like it runs out of gas. i mean it hesitates a couple times and thats when i know its coming, then it shuts down, but i dont loose my tach untill i pull in the clutch and ofcoarse then theres nothing,let it out and it comes back to life as the engine is still turning as it's slowing down, so i hope thats a good sign against an igniter. let it cool down a few minets and she fire's up with no more problems. i dont know what my valve clearences are(sorry mustang, i suck, after all i am from mass :) ).

[aeronca]

what do you think about this, since i have access to some really cool high tech and low tech avionics equiptment at work,as well as a soldering bench, should i just take out the ignition unit and replace all of the transistors on the circut card. or would that be jumping the gun on what might be a simple case of a bad from stock p/u coil. those damn coils are $70.00 a pop though. i wish i had a schematic of that thing, then i could see how that thing works(that- being the ingition unit). oh well, its not the end of the world and im still riding just about everyday 90 or so miles every day with a big shit eatin grin. :D

[Mustang]

but i dont loose my tach untill i pull in the clutch and ofcoarse then theres nothing,let it out and it comes back to life as the engine is still turning as it's slowing down, so i hope thats a good sign against an igniter.  

that proves that the igniter (at least the #1 circuit )and the p/u coil are working . the p/u coil is where the tach signal originates from and it gets it's feed off #1 cylinder .
don't fook with the igniter
YOU HAVE GAS ISSUES NOT ELECTRICAL

until you can tell me that the valve clearances are good (.004-.006 ) on the intakes and (.006-.008 ) on the exhausts I 'm going to tell you that the valves are the culprit .  

It really really sounds like a fuel delivery problem to me . I would look really hard at the gas tank vent !
Keep your spare key in the gas cap and when she hesitates or starts to blubber open the tank and see if it stays running , another trick is to flip it on reserve when it acts like that , see if it comes right back out of it without dying . If so it's time to run a new fuel line , check your float heights and make sure the tank vents .

Do you ever hear your bike whislte when it is sitting in the sun ?

[aeronca]

YES. after i run it for a while and put it away hot, it will "whistle", or "howl", i'll pop open the tank and it will stop. so why after a few minutes will it start and be ok? and how do i cleare the vent?

[JetdocX]

I think we have a winner!

Tank vent.

I'd open the filler and blow compressed air through the vent tube on the right side of the tank.

[Mustang]

what he said , also do it with the cap open and you will be able to see if any schmung comes out ! keep a rag in the tank opening . sometimes they get pretty corroded right where the hose nipple screws onto the tank bottom **hint hint **

so why after a few minutes will it start and be ok?

because that's how long it takes the float bowls to fill back up against the vaccuum being created in the tank by not being able to FULLY vent properly !

[John Stenhouse]

When they say the nipple can corrode they mean it can block the hose completely.
My 885 Girly did this, luckily it was on the drian tube from the suround of the gas cap. had to take the nipple out and run a jet file through it to clear it.